Meaning & use
set the scene
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Meanings
phraseidiom
to give the background details a listener or reader needs before the main part of a story or event begins.
Grammar: Usually has no object, and often followed by for: set the scene for the final chapter.
Patterns
- set the scene for something
- set the scene by doing something
The opening paragraph sets the scene with a foggy harbor at dawn.
Let me set the scene before I tell you what happened at the party.
A short video set the scene for the day's talks.
phraseidiom
to create the conditions that make a later event likely or possible.
Grammar: Takes for plus the later event: set the scene for a clash.
Patterns
- set the scene for something
The early rule changes set the scene for the dispute that followed.
Weeks of rain set the scene for flooding in the valley.
Their first quarrel set the scene for a long rivalry.
phraseidiom
to arrange a place, such as a stage or room, so it looks right for what will happen there.
Grammar: Literal use, usually with no object: she set the scene with candles and music.
Patterns
- set the scene with something
Candles and soft music helped set the scene for the dinner.
The crew spent the morning setting the scene before filming began.
Dim lighting set the scene for the ghost story night.
Word forms
| third person singular | sets the scene |
|---|---|
| past tense | set the scene |
| past participle | set the scene |
| -ing form | setting the scene |
Common combinations
- set the scene for
- The speech set the scene for the vote the next day.
- help set the scene
- Old photographs help set the scene for the exhibition.
- set the scene perfectly
- The mist over the lake set the scene perfectly for the mystery.
- set the scene with
- The author sets the scene with a quiet village market.
- just to set the scene
- Just to set the scene, it was midnight and the power had gone out.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lay the groundwork
- Lay the groundwork stresses preparation for future work, while set the scene often means describing the background or creating a mood.
- prepare the way
- Prepare the way suggests actions that make something easier later, whereas set the scene can simply mean explaining the situation.
- give the background
- Give the background is plainer and applies only to explaining, not to creating conditions or atmosphere.
- establish the context
- Establish the context is more formal and academic, but covers the same explaining sense.
Word family
Commonly confused: set the scene or set the stage? set the scene or seen?
set the scene vs set the stage
Set the stage means almost the same, especially for creating conditions for a later event; set the scene is more often used for describing background.
set the scene vs seen
Seen is the past participle of see and sounds like scene in some speech; scene is the noun for a place or part of a story.
Practice
Before the speaker told the story, she briefly ___ by describing the town in 1950.
Choose one answer.
She gave background before the story, which is setting the scene. Broke the ice means made people relax, and stole the show means attracted the most attention.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “set the scene”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.